Improvement in buckles



G. P. Goff. Buckle No. 208.306. Patented Sept; 24,1878.

W V ziw EJvrolar NJEfERs. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHR WASHINGTON u C UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

GEORGE P. GOFF, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT lN BUCKLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 208,306, dated September 24, 1878; application filed September 10, 1578.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE P. GOFF, of

ment is specially adapted is one havin g a frame of any form that may suit the taste or fancy, and provided with a central cross-bar, to which bar the tongue is pivoted, and also a piece of thin sheet metal, the latter being for the purpose of attaching it to a strap, the upper of a boot or shoe, or other article where a buckle of this character is found to be necessary. This hinged or pivoted metallic plate has been constructed with perforations to adapt it to be attached by means of staples, rivets, &c.; and it has also been provided with penetrating prongs or points struck from the plate, and also with a T or anchor shaped fasten ing at the end. These forms are objectionable for several reasons: When rivets or staples are used a separate machine is necessary for upsetting the rivet or staple, and the buckle is not a'complete article in itself, requiring separate attaching devices. When the plate has been formed with points or prongs integral therewith an independent machine is also necessary for its attachment, and it is found in practice that the vibrations of the buckle in wearing cause the sharp edges of the prongs or anchor to cut the leather or other material, and thus frequently become detached, besides injuring the article to which it has been applied.

The purpose of my invention is to overcome these objections.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of my buckle and plate attached to an ordinary strap. Fig. 2 is a reverse view with part of the strap broken away, showing the eyelets struck up from the internal portion of the plate, and Fig. 3 is a view with but one eyelet struck from the plate.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

- I A is the frame of the buckle, which may be square, oval, rectangular, or of any other suit-- able form. This frame is pivoted with a central cross-bar, B, to which the tongue 0 of the buckle is pivoted. D is the attaching-plate. It is recessed in the center to straddle the tongue on the cross-bar, and has lugs or ears formed on the projecting ends, which are bent over the crossbar, and by means of which it is pivoted thereto. In the other end of the plate I strike up one or more eyelets from the internal portion of the plate. These eyelets project a suflicient distance above the horizontal plane of the plate to allowthem to be passed through the material and be upset.

To attach the buckle it is only necessary to punch a hole or holes through the strap, the upper of a shoe, or other material, pass the eyelets through the holes, and upset the same, and the buckle is attached in a firm and secure manner; and should the buckle break at any time it can easily be removed and replaced by another without injury to the material.

While my buckle may be used for a variety of purposes, it is specially adapted for boots and shoes, and as nearly every shoe-manufacturer uses an eyelet-setting machine, no special machinery is necessary in applying it. It is also a complete article in itself, having integral with it its means of attachment, and possesses, in addition, the quality of oheapness, since it requires no separate staples, rivets, sewing, or their equivalents, and the plate can be made much smaller than if formed with points or prongs, since the use of the latter results in considerable waste of the metal from which the plate is formed in the process of manufacture.

I do not claim, broadly, a buckle having its tongue and a sheet metal attaching plate hinged to one of its cross-bars, for such,I am aware, is not new; but,

Having fully described the construction and operation of my buckle, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. An attaching-plate'fcr buckles provided or eyelets struck from said plate, and adapted at one end with suitable lugs or ears, to adapt to be applied to a shoe or other article, subit to be pivoted to the cross-bar of a buckle, stantially in the manner and for the purposes and having at the other end an eyelet or eye specified.

lets struck from and inte ral with the said plate, substantially as specified. F

2. A buckle having its tongue and an at Witnesses:

taohing-plate pivoted to one of its cross-bars, v GEORGE WV. BAGG,

the said plate being provided with an eyelet JOHN \V. BELL. 

